Building on the success of two digital lecture series in 2020 (see here and here), the international programs of Freie Universität Berlin, FU-BEST (European Studies Program) and FUBiS (International Summer and Winter University), are organizing a joint series of live online events and varied on-demand programming under the banner “What’s Next?” Voices from Dynamic Berlin, running from June 30 until November 3, 2021.

The series features four separate live German language sessions and six pre-recorded video entries from disciplines as varied as history, music, environmental studies, sociology, politics and more. All contributors are experienced FU-BEST or FUBiS instructors or friends of the programs and bring their unique perspectives to the question “What’s next?” for Berlin, Germany and Europe.

All sessions are approx. 45-60 mins. long. The interactive German language sessions are presented live. Be sure to take note of the different times and recommended language skills indicated for each live session. Video recordings of the subject course lectures will be made available on our website and on YouTube. See below for the full schedule and more information.

The central question “What’s Next?” looks at Berlin as a city that is and has always been in flux. Constantly adapting to one change or another – be it cultural, societal, geographical, political or linguistic. This lens allows our contributors to contextualize recent feelings of overwhelming uncertainty by discussing other periods of consequential change in Berlin’s history or present and examining how disruptive influences can also be a conduit for positive transformation. How did life in the city adapt to these changes and what positive lessons can be drawn from these examples of human resilience? These deliberations are not only presented in the form of lectures but made tangible for a remote international audience by including short video clips of site visits on location in Berlin, interview segments or performances – taking the audience on an off-campus discovery tour of Berlin.

We hope you enjoy the online program we have assembled for you – information on the regular FU-BEST or FUBiS course corresponding to each lecture as well as our instructors is available in each lecture description below. For more details about the FU-BEST and FUBiS programs as a whole and how to participate in person, please explore our websites in full.

There are four opportunities to participate in a live and interactive German language session with one of our dedicated German teachers. Select the available German level and time that fits you best (or try out all four sessions!).

Please register at least one week prior to the event to receive an access code. All sessions are hosted with Cisco Webex.